Improvement in metallic cases for pictures, cards



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

Hf HALL, .L HALL, fr. HALL, AND H. HALL, JE., on rHiLAnELPHIA, rA.

IMPROVEMENT lN METALLIC CASES FOR PICTURES, CARDS, &c.

4Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 311,489, dated February 25,1862.

To all whom it pta/y concern,.-

Be it known that we, HENRY HALL, JOHN HALL, THOMAS HALL, and HENRY HALL, J r., of the city and county of Philadelphia, and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful manufacture consisting of a peculiarly-constructed metallic case; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making part of this specification, in which-V Figures 1 and 2 show a` plan of the mold in which we make our case when the said mold is open; and Fig. 3 shows afcross-section through the said mold and case when the said mold is closed, and with the upper part of the case cast therein. The mold here referred to is vintended for casting the upper part of the case only; but the mold in which the lower part is made, being substantially the same, a description of one will be a description of the other also. W'e will therefore confine our description to the mold in which the upper part of the case is cast. 1

The object of our invention is to provide the public with a durable, cheap, and handsome case for pictures-such as daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, photographs, visiting cards, and for other purposes.

The manner in which we carry our object into practice is as follows: W e first make a mold ot' the size and shape we want the frame of the case to be. This mold consists of aflat plate, A, on the upper face of which we make a boss, B. This boss must be in size and shape just as we want the inside of the case-frame. This forms the inside of the mold. The outside of it consists of four separate pieces, C C C C, which are secured to the plate A by means of the pins D D D D. These pins act as centers on which the pieces C vibrate, whereby they can be closed up around the boss to complete the mold, or can be opened to the position shown by the drawings to release the frame after it has been cast. The properconfiguration is given to the inside edges of the pieces C, so as to form the style of frame we want; but the configuration given to the inside edges of these pieces does not complete the configuration intended to be given to the outside of the frame, as the mold is not conip`let-e until the plate, Fig. 2, is laid on the top of plate A, the holes E being made to correspond with and slip over the pins D, and

toni of the case.

| the half figure a a in this plate corresponds Awith the half figure Z) made in the lower side of the inside edge of the pieces C, the gure being made complete when the two plates are put together. The pieces C are thicker than the boss B by about the thickness of a piece of sheet-tin or other sheet metal to be insert ed. ln the end of one of these pieces a gate is made, through which to pour the metal into the mold.

After we have our mold made as described we insert a piece of sheet metal, e, in the mold by laying it on the boss B, the edges of the sheet metalprojecting beyond the boss B all around to the extent we want it to enter the cast metal. XVe complete the mold by laying the plate, Fig. 2, over the plate A, which, now that the sheet metal is under it. bears alike on the boss and on the pieces C C C C, and secures them all together, the two plates being iirmlyclaniped together. The piece of sheet metal being a little greater in diameter than the boss projects over it in the mold, so that when the metal is run into the mold the edges of sheet metal are firmly fastened and incoporated with the cast metal forming the frame, thus forming a case with a castmetal frame and sheet-metal sides or top and bottom. f

Ve would here observe that the mold is made so as to cast the hinges on the case, leaving nothing to be done in putting it together but to put the hinge-pins in; and we would further observe that in making deep cases we insert sheet metal in the sides in the same manner we have here done in the top and bot- We do not, therefore, intend to confine our patent to any certain number of pieces of sheet metal or form of case; neither do we mean to claim, broadly, uniting sheet metal with cast met-al by casting them together; but

What we claim is- Thenew article of manufacture herein dedescribed, consisting of a metal case composed of a cast-metal frame and sheet-metal top and bottoni or sides, substantially as set forth.

HENRY HALL. JOHN HALL. THOS. HALL. HENRY HALL, JR. Witnesses:

WM. J. DELLEKER, EDMUND WrLcoX. 

